WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Peter Navarro, a former top adviser to ex-President Donald Trump, has been charged with contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with a House of Representatives investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, the Justice Department said on Friday.
A federal grand jury charged Navarro with one count involving his refusal to appear for a deposition before the Jan. 6 Select Committee and another for his refusal to produce documents in response to a subpoena, the department said.
Navarro, who was due to make an initial appearance Friday afternoon in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A longtime China hawk, Navarro advised Trump on trade issues and also served on his COVID-19 task force,
He has contended previously that his communications are protected by executive privilege, a legal principle protecting a president’s communications. On Tuesday, he filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction from a federal judge to block the justice department from prosecuting the contempt of Congress charge.
Trump has urged associates not to cooperate with the Democratic-led investigation, calling it politically motivated.
In its subpoena, the Jan . 6 committee said it had reason to believe that Navarro, 72, had information relevant to its investigation.
Navarro has said in media interviews and in his book that he helped coordinate an effort to halt certification of Biden‘s victory and keep Trump in power.
The indictment was returned on Thursday and unsealed on Friday. Each count of contempt of Congress carries a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of one year in jail, as well as a fine of up to $100,000.
TARGETED TRUMP ADVISERS
Navarro is the second prominent Trump adviser to face criminal charges in the investigation.
Stephen Bannon, the onetime chief strategist for the former Republican president, was criminally charged in November for defying a subpoena from the committee.
The Democratic-controlled House recommended the contempt charges in April for Navarro and Daniel Scavino, a former deputy chief of staff to Trump.
In December, the chamber voted in favor of a contempt charge for Mark Meadows, a former House member who became Trump’s chief of staff.
There has been no word from the Justice Department on whether charges will be filed against Meadows or Scavino.
The Select Committee has conducted more than 1,000 interviews, including many with former White House aides, as it investigates the riot and events leading up to it. On Thursday, it announced that the first of an expected series of public hearings this month would take place next week.
The committee has been investigating events leading to the assault on the seat of the U.S. government by thousands of Trump supporters on Jan. 6, 2021, when Vice President Mike Pence and lawmakers gathered to certify Democrat Joe Biden‘s defeat of Trump in the November 2020 presidential election.
After Trump repeated his false claims at a raucous rally that his defeat was the result of fraud, mobs rampaged through the Capitol, injuring police officers and sending Pence, lawmakers, staff and journalists fleeing for safety.
Four people died on the day of the attack, and one Capitol Police officer who fought with rioters died the next day. Four officers have since taken their own lives.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu, additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Alistair Bell)
Comments